The Golden Wolf

Well this isn't good

I hope you guys enjoy this part, because I enjoyed writing it :)

I think you will set yourself afire

before you realize that even you

cannot conquer the sun

e.h.

The sun begins to set and a slight orange hue is visible above the tree line. The rest of the sky is a dark blue that gradually fades into a dull black. The fireplace is going, and everyone is sat in the living room. The adults are playing Monopoly, while I huddle by the fire. Fen is sitting next to Dragomir playing on a cellphone. The house is freezing cold, especially with the doorway completely open and the plastic covering the one window doesn't help either. I scoot closer to the fire, the warm stone underneath me warming me up slightly. The sweater they gave me is nice, but leather pants don't keep you warm very well.

"If you get any closer to the fire, you're going to get burned." Abarron says. I look up to find him not even looking at me, but rather at the board.

"Oh god, Abarron. She's freezing. She's a human." Aurel says, looking apologetic.

Abarron stops. "Oh. Right." Abarron looks to Petra. "Do you have any warm pajamas that might fit her?"

Shaking her head, Petra frowns. "I don't get cold. All I have are shorts and jeans. I sleep in shorts. Sorry." She says, looking at me.

"I-It's-s okay." I stutter, through chattering teeth.

"Jesus." Abarron says, standing. "Come with me. I'll give you a pair of my sweatpants."

Wrapping my arms around myself, I leave the warmth of the fire, shivering harder as I follow Abarron toward the stairs. Once out of sight of the others, at the base of the staircase he turns to me, and a look of pity crosses his face. "Sorry." He says. "I forgot about the whole human thing."

I shrug, just wishing he would get me something warm already.

To my surprise, he drapes his arm around my shoulders, his warmth spreading through me. He walks me up the stairs, keeping his arm around me. He's being sweet, which is weird, because he kind of threatened to kill me today. He gives me whiplash, which is super annoying. I like it when he's nice though. It makes me feel all warm inside, even if I'm still freezing outside.

"Sit on the bed until I find what I'm looking for." Abarron commands gruffly as we enter his room. I do as I'm told without thinking and sit gently on the edge. He had obviously made it already and I don't want to disturb his blankets. He wouldn't have to be doing this if it weren't for me. I'm such a burden. I'm putting his family in danger and demanding hospitality all at once. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have been attacked today. I know they're just after me. Fen could have gotten hurt; any of them could have.

"Hey." Abarron says, breaking me out of my self-loathing haze. "Put these on." He's holding out a pair of grey sweatpants. "I'll get you a sweatshirt. He moves to the small closet near the door to his room, and I look down at the pants, then stand and start stripping out of the leather pants I was given. Abarron turns around, raises his eyebrows, and turns back toward the closet. "You could have waited until I was out of the room." He says, matter of factly.

I can feel myself go red as I quickly pull the pants up my small frame. "It's okay." I squeak.

He turns back around and smirks as he watches me struggle to pull the cuffs of the pants up above my feet. They are easily 6 to 8 inches longer than they should be on me, so when I finally get them pulled up, a lot of cloth sits around my ankles. The pants are a bit loose on me as well, so I pull them up as they begin to sag low on my hips. I'm flat as a board, both length and width. No boobs, no curves. I'm basically a 12 year old boy.